Meta AI Learns to Recognize Faces on Smart Glasses

Meta is reportedly embedding facial recognition capabilities into its Meta AI application, a development discovered through a recent investigation. The feature, internally designated NameTag, is designed to identify people through the cameras of Meta's smart glasses, potentially alerting wearers to recognized individuals. While Meta has stated the feature is still under exploration and no final decisions have been made, the inclusion of the necessary AI models within the widely distributed Meta AI app is a point of concern.

These AI models, responsible for detecting, cropping, and encoding faces into biometric data, are already present on users' phones. Security researchers indicate the app is nearly ready for a potential rollout. This move by Meta follows previous scrutiny over its handling of facial recognition technology, including substantial fines for violating privacy laws by collecting biometric data without consent. The company also faces criticism regarding its past association with Clearview AI's controversial data scraping practices. This news arrives shortly after numerous organizations urged Meta to abandon any plans for facial recognition integration in its smart glasses.